Several politicians in Germany have pushed back against US President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that NATO’s European members should spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, more than double the current target.

On Tuesday evening, Trump said that NATO nations were spending too little on defence and complained that “Europe is in for a tiny fraction of the money that we’re in”.

“They can all afford it, but they should be at 5% not 2%,” Trump told reporters at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

None of the alliance’s 32 members are currently spending 5% of GDP on defence, according to NATO data. Poland is the biggest spender by share of GDP at 4.12%, followed by Estonia at 3.43% and the US at 3.38%.

Ralf Stegner, a member of Germany’s Social Democrat Party (SPD) party, called Trump’s comments “delusional and absolutely insane” in a post on Facebook.

“We don’t need more weapons in the world, but fewer,” Stegner told Politico.

Marcus Faber, chairman of the defence committee in Germany’s parliament, agreed that 5% was too high. Faber said that NATO countries would have to agree on a new goal beyond 2%, but stated that the target should be 3% and decided by consensus.

Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman said: “We are not at a bazaar here.”

“Trump, who sees himself as a dealmaker, naturally also hopes that the increased financial commitment of the European partners will benefit US industry in particular. But please don’t make up a number out of thin air,” Strack-Zimmerman said.

Trump’s latest call for NATO members to increase their defence spending is nothing new. During his first presidency, he repeatedly threatened to pull out of the military alliance if European allies failed to boost their spending.

The EU’s NATO members have increased their defence spending in recent years, largely as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

NATO estimated that 23 (including 16 from the EU) of its 32 members would meet its goal of spending 2% of GDP in 2024, up from just six countries in 2021. Italy, Belgium, and Spain are among those who are yet to reach the 2% threshold.

Germany will hit the 2% target for the first time this year, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised a complete overhaul of the country’s military in 2022, breaking years of taboo against the country investing heavily in its military.

Despite this, officials and reports have repeatedly suggested that Germany’s military is unfit for purpose. An annual report released by parliament in March 2024 found that the Bundeswehr was “aged and shrinking” and severely lacked equipment and personnel.

The general consensus in Germany’s political establishment is that the nation should either maintain or increase its military spending — with several parties promoting a spending boost as part of their campaigns for the upcoming election set for 23 February.

ADVERTISEMENT

Green party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck told Spiegel magazine that Germany should aim for 3.5% in upcoming years.

“Geopolitically, it is foreseeable that we – Germany and Europe – will have to take more responsibility for our security, anything else would be naïve in view of the positioning of the USA,” Habeck said.

Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s opposition Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and the man tipped to succeed Scholz as chancellor, on Wednesday said the country would spend more on defence but he would not be drawn on a specific spending target.

“The 2, 3 or 5% (targets) are basically irrelevant, the decisive factor is that we do what is necessary to defend ourselves,” Merz told broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.

ADVERTISEMENT

NATO’s new chief, Mark Rutte, has warned that the 2% target is insufficient, and said in December that citizens of NATO member states should accept “sacrifices” including cuts to their pensions, health and security systems in order to boost military spending in Europe.

President-elect Trump reiterated that “all hell will break out” if the hostages still held in Gaza have not been freed by the time he enters office in two weeks on Jan. 20. 

Trump was asked about the threats he first levied in early December at the Hamas terrorist organization that has continued to hold some 96 hostages, only 50 of whom are still assessed to be alive, including three Americans. 

“All hell will break out,” Trump said, speaking alongside Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East and who has begun participating in cease-fire negotiations alongside the Biden administration and leaders from Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas. 

PARDONS, ISRAEL, DOMESTIC TERRORISM AND MORE: BIDEN’S PLANS FOR FINAL DAYS OF PRESIDENCY

“If those hostages aren’t back – I don’t want to hurt your negotiation – if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” he added in reference to Witkoff.

Trump again refused to detail what this would mean for Hamas and the Trump transition team has not detailed for Fox News Digital what sort of action the president-elect might take. 

In response to a reporter who pressed him on his meaning, Trump said, “Do I have to define it for you?”

“I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is,” he added. 

President-elect Trump makes remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Jan. 7, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

ISRAELI PM OFFICE DENIES REPORTS THAT HAMAS FORWARDED LIST OF HOSTAGES TO RELEASE IN EVENT OF DEAL

Witkoff said he would be heading to the Middle East either Tuesday night or Wednesday to continue cease-fire negotiations. 

In the weeks leading up to the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays, there was a renewed sense of optimism that a cease-fire could finally be on the horizon after a series of talks over the prior 14 months had not only failed to bring the hostages home, but saw a mounting number of hostages killed in captivity. Once again, though, no deal was pushed through before the New Year. 

After nearly 460 days since the hostages were first taken in Gaza in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, Witkoff appeared to be holding onto hope that a deal could be secured in the near future. 

Steve Witkoff, speaks during a campaign event for former President Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Oct. 27, 2024. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I think that we’ve had some really great progress. And I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff told reporters. “I actually believe that we’re working in tandem in a really good way. But it’s the president – his reputation, the things that he has said that are driving this negotiation and so, hopefully, it’ll all work out and we’ll save some lives.”

In addition to the roughly 50 people believed to be alive and in Hamas captivity, the terrorist group is believed to be holding at least 38 who were taken hostage and then killed while in captivity, as well as at least seven who are believed to have been killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and then taken into Gaza.